Mikey didn’t necessarily hate Christmas… he just had a very strong dislike of the holiday, that was all.

In part, it had to do with the hypocritical talks of peace and good will towards men. Everyone else in his school was going the extra mile to be nice to everyone except him. If anything, he was treated worse by almost everyone, and what few friends he did have were treating his wounds more often.

In part, commercialism was to blame. He was tired of everyone rushing to get gifts at overcrowded malls and the stupid (but delicious) candy canes. He was tired of the holiday specials that showed the so-called meaning of Christmas, but nobody ever took them seriously.

The worst of it, though, was that he was deemed a bad guy for not participating in the so-called good will. When their school held an ugly sweater contest, Mikey wanted no part in it, and was beat up for not being in the spirit/, when he knew damn well that he’d encounter the same beating if he wore the /Merry Bucking Christmas sweater that Gerard bought him the year earlier.

Honestly, Mikey would probably celebrate Festivus instead- at least then he could rant about how commercialized Christmas has become without being judged.

He did have a small circle of friends that did listen to him and did understand him, but they didn’t necessarily agree with him. Mikey was fine with that, as long as they didn’t try to change his mind.

One friend in particular, Pete, was always willing to listen to Mikey, no matter what the topic was. If Mikey was hurting, whether it was physically, mentally, or emotionally, Pete was always there with a tight hug, a kind word, and a comforting smile. He’d listen to the younger’s rants without complaint and offer what advice he could.

One particular day, Mikey didn’t really have anything to rant about or have any need to cry. This time, as the two were walking home from school, Pete brought something up to his younger friend that honestly didn’t come to a surprise.

“Mikey… what would you say if I told you I was bisexual?”

Mikey stopped in his tracks to think about it. It may have not come to a surprise, but Mikey never really thought about how he’d respond to it.

“Well, obviously, I wouldn’t have a problem with it,” Mikey finally said, “I mean, Gerard’s totally gay- he may not have told me yet, but I’ve seen the way he looks at Frank. And I was raised in a mostly tolerant household. I was raised to accept people for who they are.”

Pete smiled, relief evident on his face. “Thank god… I wasn’t sure if you’d still be my friend, Mikey.”

“Pete, you and I, we’ve been friends since we were, what, three? Anyway, I’ve kinda had my suspicions about it. I’m just surprised it took you that long to figure it out.”

“What are friends for, Pete?” Mikey asked, “Now, do you wanna get this over with now? Or would you rather wait?”

“Let’s do it now… I mean, the sooner I tell them, the better.”

Mikey was very well aware that Pete’s parents weren’t exactly the most accepting. Since they were divorced and Pete only lived with his mother, though, there was much less of a chance of violence occurring.

Pete’s mother greeted them in a friendly tone, as she often did. Before Pete had the chance to chicken out, Mikey gave his friend’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“Mom… I… I have to tell you something,” Pete said.

Mikey watched Pete’s mother carefully, looking for any signs of hostility as his friend came out.

Upon seeing the glare on Pete’s mother’s face, Mikey was fully prepared to step in and defend Pete. He may not have been strong in a physical sense, but he was loyal to his friends and did have a way with words.

“You… get out.” That was the only thing Pete’s mother said. “Take your stuff and go. You have no place here.”

“Mom-”

“GO! Leave, and do not come back!”

Mikey felt a bit guilty about Pete being kicked out because he did play a part in the older coming out. Pete insisted that Mikey shouldn’t blame himself for his parent’s intolerance. They eventually agreed to disagree, since it was a bit stupid to argue about it.

Mikey found yet another reason to dislike Christmas- the whole good will towards men thing apparently didn’t apply to teenagers coming clean about their sexual orientation to their parents.

Pete’s uncle, one of the few people in Pete’s family that was more accepting about one’s sexual orientation, lived all the way in Chicago. Pete really didn’t want to leave his friends in Jersey behind, so Mikey asked if his best friend could stay at the Way household. His mother had been perfectly fine with it, and even offered to go pick up his things from his old home.

“You can stay in my room, if you want,” Mikey said to his friend, “You can have the bed, and I’ll take the couch.”

Pete found it difficult to get any sleep. The scene kept playing over and over again in his head, preventing him from drifting off.

Eventually, Pete found himself watching Mikey sleep. Mikey, being as tall as he was, had curl up a little in order to fit on the couch. Other than that, though, he looked relatively comfortable. Moonlight poured in through the curtains, making Mikey’s pale skin glow. There was just enough light for Pete to make out certain features- long, black eyelashes, sharp nose, and pink lips parted just slightly.

In short, Mikey was beautiful.

Mikey shifted slightly in his sleep, causing the blanket that was dangerously close to slipping off to finally fall to the floor. Pete slid out of Mikey’s bed to go retrieve the fallen blanket- it also gave him an excuse to take a closer look.

Pete draped the blanket over the younger Way, tucking it around him to ensure that it wouldn’t fall off again. He stood there for a moment, just watching his friend.

He turned to go back to Mikey’s bed when he heard a whimper escape Mikey.

Pete whipped back around to see Mikey had a look of fear and discomfort on his face.

“Mikey?”

Mikey made no response. Pete figured that it had to have been a nightmare.

When Mikey’s eyes finally opened, Pete wasted no time in wrapping his arms tightly around the younger. Quite sobs escaped Mikey’s lips as Pete rubbed his back in a soothing way.

“Shh… you’re okay, Mikes… you’re okay,” Pete murmured. He led Mikey over to the bed and had him lay down. Pete slipped in beside him and wrapped his arms around his best friend.

Neither of them found it awkward in the least. In fact, it felt nice. Mikey, despite being the tall one, buried his face into Pete’s chest, as he often did. Pete’s familiar scent and comforting heartbeat soon lulled Mikey to sleep.

Pete felt his eyelids grow heavy as he watched Mikey sleep once again. He soon fell asleep, the events that took place earlier now forgotten.

Mikey convinced himself that it was totally normal to spoon with your best friend after a nightmare and wake up in his arms. Ha also thought it was normal to continue to sleep with said best friend in order to prevent any future nightmares.

No amount of convincing, though, would ever make him think that the sudden butterflies he felt in his stomach would ever be normal, especially when it was Pete that triggered them.

Here’s the thing- Mikey never felt these feelings until recently. Cuddling with Pete just felt so natural, and they fit together perfectly… he wondered what Pete’s lips would feel like against his.
Stop! Goddamn it, Mikey, this is your best friend you’re talking about here!

He honestly couldn’t help it, though. He was allowed to daydream, after all. But he dared not act on them- Pete was his best friend… he didn’t want to lose his friendship. Even though Pete was bisexual, that didn’t mean that he loved Mikey.

It was Christmas Eve, and Gerard, Pete, and Mikey had the house to themselves. Gerard was in the basement, drawing, leaving Pete and Mikey to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special.

(Mikey may have hated almost every Christmas special, but he could never bring himself to hate /Peanuts/. Charlie Brown was just so relatable, and it really was a cute special.)

When it cut to commercial, Mikey turned to Pete to say something. However, the words never came out, as Pete’s lips were against his in seconds.

When they pulled away, Pete said, “Shit, I’m so sorry. I just-”

Mikey cut him off with another kiss. Pete pulled Mikey closer and gently ran a hand through his soft brown locks. The kiss remained sweet and chaste, since they were both a bit nervous about making the wrong move with each other. Eventually, their need to breathe overpowered their want for close contact, and they broke the kiss.

“H… how long?” Mikey asked.

“Since the first night I stayed with you. You?”

“Same.”

The smile on Pete’s face grew wider as he pulled Mikey down on the couch. Mikey’s head rested on Pete’s chest, the younger listening to the elder’s heartbeat.

“So… um… does this make us boyfriends?” Mikey asked.

“Yeah… I guess it does,” Pete replied. He kissed Mikey’s forehead as a comfortable silence set upon them. The two laid there on the couch, watching the rest of the Peanuts Christmas special.

Gerard came up from the basement to get some coffee when he saw Mikey and Pete sleeping on the couch. A smile came to Gerard’s face upon seeing them, happiness evident on both of their faces. He ran back down to the basement to grab a comforter and his cell phone.

He came back up and draped the comforter over the sleeping teens before he took a picture of them.

“Frank’s gonna fucking love this,” Gerard said. He leaned over to kiss Mikey’s temple before sending the picture to Frank.

u o me $10, frnk

A few seconds later, Frank replied.

bastard

Gerard rolled his eyes. Though, really, he was glad to see Mikey was happy. Maybe now, Mikey would enjoy the holiday season a little more.